Reading of the current mine disaster in Utah (which certainly is a situation deserving of our thoughts and prayers), reminded me of a story that Father Thomas sent about St. Nicholas and a miracle attributed to him in the Coal mines of Pennsylvania.


A Modern Day Miracle
1907 Jacobs Creek, Pennsylvania
by Michael Roman, Greek Catholic Union Honorary Editor and Knight of St. Gregory the Great

The lives of many Greek Catholic Union members, living in Van Meter and Jacobs Creek, Pennsylvania, were spared because they attended religious services on the Feast Day of Saint Nicholas instead of going to work.

They were employed by the Darr mines and were requested to work on December 19, 1907 (when the Feast of St. Nicholas was celebrated according to the Julian Calendar). And despite the fact that work had been slack, they refused and attended the Liturgy that day instead.

That very day a huge mine explosion occured, snuffing out the lives of approximately 200 men. Spared were the Greek Catholic Union members and others who decided instead to attend the Divine Liturgy on the Feast of Saint Nicholas.

The following account appeared in the area newspaper:
JACOBS CREEK, PA, December 19—Religious fervor is due to sweep through the Youghiogheny Valley as never before as a consequence of the Darr disaster. Today was a holiday of the Greek Catholic Church, and as such it was observed by many of the men who usually work in the Darr mines. Usually about 400 men toil within the mine. On account of the religious holiday—it was the Feast of St. Nicholas—this number was nearly cut in half, and these, almost two hundred men, who were saved by religious devotion, will certainly be more devout than ever, after the extent of the mine's horror is fully realized.

A marker erected at the entrance to Olive Branch Cemetery in Rostraver Township gives an account of horrific occurrences in local coal mines:

On Dec. 19, 1907, an explosion killed 239 men and boys, many Hungarian immigrants, in Darr coal mine near Van Meter. Some were from the closed Naomi mine, near Fayette City, which exploded on Dec. 1, killing 34. Over 3,000 miners died in December 1907, the worst month in U.S. coal mining history. In Olive Branch Cemetery, 71 Darr miners, 49 unknown, are buried in a common grave.


A virtual tour of the Byzantine Catholic Church is here, and the St. Nicholas Center has a close up of the icons.

My own parish’s orginal church in Wilkeson was founded by Coal Miners from the same region, and was also impacted by a horrific mine accident. Holy Saint Nicholas, pray to God for the miners affected.